Fall (Fate Series Book 2)

by Paige Hill

  “No!” he snaps. “I thought I made it clear that I was here to make sure you’re still alive.”

  Stopping to wrap my head around this ridiculous situation, I ask, “Why did you ask Alex to do that?”

  “For my own selfish reasons. I knew he would do it when he found out Alvarez killed your father. I exploited that. I never claimed to be a good man, Celeste.” He fiddles with a thick silver ring on his right hand, refusing to make eye contact. “Alvarez backed out on a deal, and in this world,” his eyes finally meet mine, “My world—there are consequences. If I want to maintain the same level of respect I’ve worked so hard for, I can’t show mercy. It’s not who I am.”

  I hear the regret in his words, but self-preservation has stepped between the facts and my remaining brain cells. “You put my little brother in danger because you were stiffed on a goddamn deal?”

  I lurch forward, shoving his chest as hard as I can, needing to lash out. I needed to hurt him, even if a mere fraction of how much he hurt me.

  “It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. I’m sorry, Celeste. Alex is a grown man and you should be proud of him. He handled a situation he wasn’t qualified for.” He bites out the words as he grabs my shoulders before I can rescind.

  Pride swells in my chest, but only momentarily.

  “You know exactly how much he means to me. He’s all I’ll have left when our mother dies. You said you cared about me, but you have no problem throwing away the thing I love most? That sounds a hell of a lot more like hate than love, Jensen.” Fresh tears follow the trail of their predecessors as I watch his features change. His grip on my shoulders tightens and the muscles in his jaw dance behind the trimmed scruff.

  “I can’t hate enough to love.” His hands move from my shoulders to cup my face. “If I were a man capable of love, I would have been in love with you. What I felt for you wasn’t fair to anyone. I desperately wanted to make you happy, but I knew I was never going to fill that need. Being with you for as long as I was, was selfish. I put you in danger and allowed you to love me, knowing I couldn’t return it.”

  Looking closely at the man I once wanted a family with, I see more emotion and turmoil in his pale blue eyes than I ever did in the years we were together. What I see breaks my heart because not a word out of his mouth is the truth. He just can’t step away from himself long enough to see it.

  “Jensen, you’re wrong. You forget that I knew you before. The kid that had me so enamored I couldn’t think straight. That kid could love, and so can you.” I place a tentative hand over his heart. “Just promise me that when you do find that woman, you won’t make excuses and push her away.” I stretch on my tip toes and place a gentle kiss on his cheek.

  This man is flawed, sometimes callous, but still good in his core. I never realized how much I needed closure until this very moment. I smile brightly at him as a different kind of tear moistens my skin.

  Boom!

  The room shakes as a series of blasts detonate around the building.

  Jensen checks his phone and looks at me.

  “Do not leave this room.” His sudden, stern voice carries over the thundering noise.

  Taking a step forward, I panic. “Where are you going?”

  “To visit a certain blonde and level the scales of justice,” he says with his back to me, and I swallow thickly, unsure how that makes me feel. “Just promise me you’ll stay here.”

  Wordlessly, I nod my head and the door closes again.

  I stay in my cocoon for several minutes as what I imagine to be utter chaos ensues just past the relative safety of the heavy wooden door.

  The thought no sooner crosses my mind as the door swings open and I audibly breathe a sigh of relief that he came back for me.

  Only it isn’t my salvation.

  It’s my damnation.

  Chapter Thirty

  Aiden

  J: Your girl is alive. Go time.

  Relief blankets me, allowing me to take a breath for the first time since I watched her walk into this godforsaken building.

  The small explosives positioned around the perimeter detonate in rapid succession, providing the perfect distraction for the team to move in.

  After Ramos chewed my ass out, he proved once again that he’s a man you want as an ally, not an enemy. We’ve split up into groups of two, leaving Alex with Erin—a fact he wasn’t happy about. I even have to hand it to that dipshit, Trent. He’s putting his ass on the line too.

  Following the maps Alex provided, we enter the complex, ready for war. Cutting the lock on an exterior door, O’Connor follows me in, rifle aimed and ready. Our steps are smooth and tactical. Years of training leave no room for error.

  “This goes to shit and I’m rolling on your ass,” Ramos mumbles in my ear bud and, despite the situation, I grin.

  Gunfire explodes in the distance, in the same vicinity J had alerted us Celeste would be. Blood pumps through my veins like a nitrous oxide as we carefully take the next turn.

  I’m coming for you, baby.

  I was hesitant to trust J, but so far, he’s proven himself. I didn’t have any other viable option. Things better stay that way or he’s a fucking dead man.

  Rifle at the ready, we pick up the pace as Declan and I work our way through the path of intricate pathways, designed to confuse.

  An ear-piercing scream echoes through the entire floor, originating only thirty feet down the hallway to my right. I take off at a dead run, not because of the scream, but the silence that follows, tearing my soul in two. My carefully constructed façade begins to crack.

  There is only one open door in my sight and a single shadow dances in the doorway.

  Declan and I silently communicate to flank the door. Once in position, I lead.

  The sight before my eyes blinds me with rage and the last brick holding the beast inside crumbles into dust, taking the remainder of my humanity with it.

  Celeste’s half naked body lies in a pool of blood on the floor, lifeless. Alvarez is positioned on the floor between her knees, fighting with his zipper. His beady, hollow eyes scour her form and he’s just stupid enough to speak. “I thought I’d get in one last fuck after I killed her.” His eyes turn to me and a poisonous smile eats his face. This man is pure evil.

  A feral noise escapes my chest and I drop the rifle, needing to feel the life drain from him with my bare hands.

  The man known as Aiden is gone. He died with the beautiful soul lying on the floor. His death has given birth to a merciless monster—speechless, incapable of words.

  Lunging at a man more malevolent than Satan himself, I grip his throat with enough force to crush his trachea. I watch gleefully as fear fills his hollow eyes, proving him to be the coward I expected.

  I can elusively hear Declan behind me, calling out to the man I once was, but I ignore him. Both hands grip the circumference of the demon’s head and I jerk in opposite directions, feeling a satisfying crunch as the life drains from his eyes. I release his corpse, letting the shell fall to the floor.

  Seconds tick by and I can see Declan in the my peripheral. My shoulders rise and fall rapidly as my anger ebbs. He wants to reach for me but knows it would be a colossal mistake.

  As the high of rage starts to fade, my abdomen revolts, and I lean over, emptying the minute contents of my stomach.

  Once the fog in my head clears, my mind drags me back to reality and the gravity of what I’ve just done. I became the monster I promised I would never be.

  My head jerks to the only lifeless body I care about. For the second time in my life, the person I love most leaves me.

  I love her.

  The realization takes me to my knees. Sorrow swallows me as I hold her delicate face in my hands and weep like a fucking child.

  “I love you,” I whisper against her forehead as my tears wash away small spatters of blood that have trickled down from her hairline. I feel the ground opening, ready to drag me to hell for my sins. I lay my head on her chest, needing
to feel her warmth just one last time.

  Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub.

  It’s faint, but it’s there. Hope rockets from my heart to my brain as I scream at anyone who’s listening. “I need a goddamn medic!”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Jensen

  Pushing the conversation with Celeste from my thoughts, I make my way down the corridor. Panic and chaos echo through the walls as Alvarez’s lackeys scurry like mice.

  I wait patiently for the usual calm that accompanies my nerves, but it never comes. Flexing my fingers, I try to control the sense of unease that permeates the air around me.

  It doesn’t fucking matter that she’s a woman. She’s a job. A contract. A goddamn succubus on society.

  I have no problem putting an end to the cruel evil that lurks this earth, but it always bothers me when the target is a woman. Maybe it’s because I hate how much smaller they are than me, or maybe it’s my father’s voice lecturing me. Who knows, but it doesn’t matter at this point. Once I accept the contract, you’re as good as dead.

  I don’t take every bid, but if I do, you damn well deserve the warrant I’m about to serve you. My personal brand of justice, since the justice system seems to fall short on ‘justice’.

  I don’t think this could have gone better if I’d planned it. Her presence here is perfect.

  I find my target on an ornate couch, sprawled out like she doesn’t have a fucking care in the world. The sounds of war echoing from outside don’t seem to faze her as she puts the glass pipe to her lips again and lights the off-white powder, inhaling deeply.

  I remain silent as I enter the room, adjusting my cufflinks before casually taking a seat next to her.

  “Mr. James, I see you finished taking out the trash. That was awfully fast,” she crows, attempting to sound seductive as she runs a bony hand down my thigh.

  I don’t bother to move her hand because it won’t be there long.

  Slipping the gun from the holster at my chest, I rest it casually against my other thigh. I watch in my peripheral as her eyes bounce to the instrument that will ultimately be responsible for her death.

  “Gwen, I hear you’ve done some naughty things.” Her eyes widen at my words, with intrigue rather than fear.

  “I can do all kinds of naughty things,” she whispers against my neck, and the sweaty stickiness of her clammy skin nauseates me. The drugs are kicking in.

  This bitch has no clue.

  “If you want to confess your sins, now’s the time.” My expression never changes-- cold as stone.

  “That’s kind of strange foreplay,” she pops off, still caressing me, making me desperate for a shower.

  “I’m talking about Charles, your grandfather.”

  Her entire body stiffens.

  Now I have your attention.

  “It seems you’re not as good as you thought you were. Millie is much better at this game than you are.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she claims, removing her talons from my leg.

  “Grandfather is dead. He had cancer.”

  She eyes me carefully.

  I nod in agreement. “He did, but that’s not what killed him now is it?” I give her a bored stare. “Cameras never lie.”

  She begins to sit up, but I turn the weapon in her direction. Her eyes begin to bounce around the room like the explosion of sound is just now resonating.

  “Did you know that your grandfather had a relationship with Millie?” The expression on her face gives away the answer. “Millie is a smart woman.” My lips tip in the slightest of smiles, even though my tone is humorless. She began to grow suspicious after Charles’ condition increased so rapidly—so rapidly after Gwen started to show interest in his condition. She placed a nanny cam, one of those teddy bear things, in his room. Even I have to admire how genius it is in its simplicity.

  “Yes, well, she loved him very much,” I continue, not allowing her to speak. “So much so that she spent a sizable amount of the money he left her on a very specific service.”

  “He left money to the maid?” she asks, disdain soaking up her words, and I can tell she’s flabbergasted.

  Jesus, that’s all she got from that?

  “So, it would seem.” I chance a look at her glossy stare, waiting for my own humanity to step in. Once again, I am abandoned. The shine in her eyes is not one of emotion, but rather the toxins ravishing her body. There is nothing there but hollowness. If I had a soul, this moment would be almost poetic.

  Directing the gun further up her body, the muzzle drags gently against her flesh at our proximity.

  Lowering my voice, I recite something I truly believe. “Don’t fear Hell, for Satan walks among the living.”

  My finger eases the trigger back as I exhale a heavy breath. The sound shatters the empty space making ears start to ring slightly. Her body looks no more lifeless than it did thirty seconds ago. I stare at her, trying to feel remorse, but there is nothing.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Aiden

  J crashes through the door, his expression giving away more than it ever has as he takes in the scene around us.

  “What the fuck happened?” he screams at me, his face turning shades.

  Anger floods me, but I’m not leaving her. I can’t.

  “I asked you a question,” he grits through clenched teeth as he points the barrel of his gun my direction.

  “I’d be real fucking careful what you do next,” Declan bites, staring at him through the sight line of his rifle.

  Declan must have broken his tunnel vision because his eyes scan the room again, landing on my face, taking in my grief.

  “Is she—”, he cuts himself off, unable to say the words.

  “Not yet,” Declan asserts, looking around, frustrated. “Fuck!” he shouts kicking over a chair. “Aiden, I can’t fix this. I can’t explain him to the fucking FBI,” he states, defeated, as he points toward Alvarez’s lifeless body.

  “I don’t give a shit what the FBI thinks, as long as she makes it out of this,” I declare, turning my attention back to her.

  “Fuck. You love her, don’t you?” J sighs, sounding exasperated. I don’t respond because it’s none of his damn business. “I’ll take care of Alvarez, just get her to a fucking hospital.” He slips the gun into a shoulder holster before walking toward the body. Getting it into position, he picks it up in a fireman’s carry.

  Realizing what he’s about to do, I humble myself. “Thank you,” I state sincerely.

  “I’m not doing it for you.”

  Declan breaks the silence, “You better get out of here, J—”

  “Jensen,” J corrects.

  The fuck? I whip my head in his direction, but he’s already out the door.

  Seconds later, the room fills with medical personnel and FBI vests. It takes every ounce of self-control I have, but I step back, allowing the EMT’s access to Celeste.

  “Briggs,” I hear a voice boom from behind me. Turning around, I come face to face with a blonde man, holding out his hand. “I’m special agent, Kane Kavanagh.”

  Pacing the floor like a caged animal, I refuse to talk to anyone until I know what’s going on.

  “Briggs, I’m not going to say it again. Sit the fuck down or I’ll restrain you.” Declan glares at me from his seat in the hospital waiting room.

  “I’d like to see you fucking try,” I snap, looking for a fight. I’m scared to fucking death and I don’t know how to process any of this.

  Declan rolls his eyes at me, knowing exactly what I’m doing.

  Even in my pissy mood, my gaze circles the room, thankful for every person here. Dave holds Consuela, Celeste’s mom, tightly as he whispers in her ear. That woman. I mentally shake my head. She knew Celeste and Emily were lying to her and that Alex was in trouble. She just didn’t know how much trouble. Knowing they would never tell the truth, she begged Kane to keep an eye out. Turns out he was thinking about taking on a case here in Miami, to be close
r to his dad. The Alvarez case to be exact. When she confided in him, she unknowingly gave him exactly what he needed to move forward with the case.

  Mother’s intuition at its best.

  I watch her and raw emotion flows from every feature on her tiny body, just like her daughter. Celeste is lucky to have a mother like her. My insides contract as the thought blossoms, deep in my brain—Celeste will be an amazing mom someday.

  Emily cries softly in Alex’s arms as she peppers her daughter with delicate kisses, and it hits me deep. A feeling of loss I know I’ll never be able to escape tears another part of me.

  This entire scene is too much. I’m surrounded by the family I envied my entire life. One I was too eager for.

  Teagan grabs my hand like one might reach for a frightened dog, and leads me to the opposite side of the room, where I relent and take a seat next to her. Putting my elbows on my knees and my face in my hands, I force back the urge to scream.

  “I know exactly what you’re feeling,” she says so only I can hear.

  “Teagan, no offense, but what you did was self-defense. I murdered a man in cold blood.” Saying it out loud makes it even more daunting.

  “It wasn’t,” she admits, grabbing my attention.

  “Sweetheart, you forget I was there.”

  “Yes, but were you not paying attention? Mark begged me for his life. If you’re a cold-blooded killer, then so am I.” She leans over, placing a kiss on my cheek.

  Raising my head, I stare at the man in the perfectly pressed suit across the room.

  A man deadlier than any other I know.

  A man who loved my woman.

  A man to whom I owe my future.

  Jensen James is a lot of things, but today he kept me out of prison. A place I deserve to be, but I was just selfish enough to take his offer. According to the government, Armando Alvarez fled the country after the authorities raided, discovering fifteen victims of human trafficking on his property.